WELLINGTON: A New Zealand government committee on Wednesday recommended three Indigenous lawmakers be temporarily suspended from parliament following the performance of a haka during the reading of a contentious bill last year.

The Privileges Committee recommended that co-leaders of Te Pati Maori, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, be suspended for 21 days, while Te Pati Maori representative Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke be suspended for seven days for acting in “a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the house.”

The report found that while both haka, Maori ceremonial dance, and song are not uncommon occurrences in parliament, members were aware permission from the speaker was needed beforehand unless they were performed during their speech. Parliament now must vote to approve the suspension. The vote is expected to pass with the support of the ruling conservative coalition.

The recommendations come after the three members and opposition Labour Party Pene Henare performed a haka ahead of a vote on a bill that would have reinterpreted a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori last November.

Ngarewa-Packer is also alleged to have made a hand gesture similar to a finger gun and simulated a firing motion. The bill has since failed to garner sufficient support to become law.

Te Pati Maori in a statement on Instagram said the proposed punishments were the strongest ever handed down by the committee.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2025